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The recent wide-spread interest in psychiatry is manifested not only in novels, moving pictures and the drama but also in journalistic 'exposés'. This public concern should be channeled constructively in support of desperately needed improvement in our state hospitals. Fremont-Smith offers a remedy which is sound and simple and offers real hope for success: 'Let each [state hospital] superintendent, within the limitations of his particular situation, boldly and progressively inform his community of those basic needs of his patients for which he is now unable to provide. Let him be vigorous and specific in his statement of those needs, so that no leader in his community can remain in ignorance of them.'
Such action is particularly urgent now, as the vigorous expansion of the Veterans Administration program will tend to drain off personnel, thereby aggravating a situation which is already critically bad.